Contributed by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office
Monroe County District Attorney Kevin D. Croninger announced Monday, March 2, that on Feb. 27, Honorable Judge Paul Curran found Melissa R. Knutson of Readstown, Wis., guilty of misconduct in public office and obstructing an officer.
These convictions were based upon Knutson’s pleas to these charges. Judge Curran then sentenced Knutson to 18 months of initial confinement in prison and an additional two years of extended supervision for the conviction of. misconduct in public office. Knutson also was sentenced to 180 days of jail on the obstructing-an-officer conviction; this sentence will run concurrently to her prison sentence. Judge Curran ordered Knutson be taken into custody immediately following the completion of the Feb. 27 hearing.
The charges stem from Knutson’s time as a nurse for the Monroe County Department of Health and Human Services. During that time, while serving as a nurse for a Monroe County Drug court participant, Knutson repeatedly engaged in sexual intercourse with that patient/participant. When the facts of her intercourse with a patient/participant were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Knutson responded by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault.
Both via letter and by entering her plea, Knutson acknowledged that she was not sexually assaulted and instead had fabricated that allegation to avoid consequences for her sex acts with the patient/participant.
District Attorney Kevin Croninger praised the sentence from Judge Curran, “The harm caused by Ms. Knutson was deep and significant. Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault. This situation is particularly egregious given the patient in this situation was a participant in drug court. Judge Curran was extremely concerned about the significant level of harm caused by Ms. Knutson, and his sentence reflected that significant level of harm. We are thankful for Judge Curran’s perspective, understanding, and the sentence he handed down.”
The Honorable Judge Paul Curran, who serves as a Juneau County Circuit Court Judge, did not mince words when describing the serious nature of Ms. Knutson’s behavior. During sentencing, Curran indicated that Knutson’s behavior was “despicable” and that she was “an embarrassment to nurses everywhere.” Curran further indicated that it appeared Knutson felt she was more important than everyone else and that her purported remorse was “a mile wide and an inch deep.”
The prosecution of the case was handled by Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger with support and assistance by the staff of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation of the case was led by Lieutenant Jose Tovar of the City of Sparta Police Department, with assistance from Deputy Chief Booker Ferguson and Officer Adam Malin of the City of Sparta Police Department, Monroe County District Attorney’s Office Investigator Andrew Kuen, and Investigator JoEllen Egge of the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office.
